


We'll Say Aloha

by brak



Series: Missing scenes from Ki'ilua [1]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Episode Related, Gen, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-23
Updated: 2011-11-23
Packaged: 2017-10-26 11:08:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/282345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brak/pseuds/brak
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Before he leaves for North Korea, Danny goes to see Grace for what may be the last time, but she won't say goodbye.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We'll Say Aloha

After they make the decision that they’re really going to do this, they really are going to sneak into North Korea and bust Steve out of a heavily fortified bunker, Joe excuses himself to go make the preparations. The four of them just regard each other silently for a moment.

Lori clears her throat. “I guess this is when I should say the governor actually put me on the team to stop you from doing things like invading other countries.”

Danny shoots her a look. A minute ago she seemed like she was all in. If she tries to rat them out to the governor now he’s going to… Well, he’s going to stand by and let Kono handle it because his pop taught him never to hit a lady.

“Are you going to?” Kono asks, and oh yeah, she’s getting ready to take a swing if she has to.

“Hell no,” Lori says. “But now I can say I tried. I can break the rules with a clear conscience.”

They laugh nervously, none of them wanting to give voice to the notion that they’re probably not coming back from this one. Danny’s seen the satellite pictures. There’s something like twenty guys there, all probably armed to the teeth. Assuming they even get into North Korea what chance do four cops and an aging Navy SEAL really have against a bunker full of commandos? But none of that matters in the end. Steve needs them.

“So, we’ve got a little time before Joe sets this all up,” Danny says. “We should probably take it and do, you know? Whatever needs doing.”

The others nod gravely.

Twenty minutes later he finds himself standing at Rachel’s front door. She looks at him snidely when she answers it. She’s always looking at him snidely these days, like it’s his fault she can’t count, or even that she slept with him in the first place. Not that he’ll let her off the hook for that one. They made that mistake together.

“Danny, I’ve told you time and again you can’t just show up. If Stan were here…” she stops mid tirade as she finally looks at his face. She always could read him like a book. “What’s happened?” she asks, stepping aside to let him in.

“Steve’s in trouble,” Danny says. “He needs my help.”

“Again?”

“This is worse than just being framed for murder. He went to North Korea to help a friend, but it was a trick. You remember that guy I told you about? The crime boss who set Steve up for the governor’s murder?”

“The one you’ll tell me nothing about, including his name?”

“That’s for your…”

“Protection,” she cuts him off. “Yes, you’ve said.”

“Well, he was behind it,” Danny says. “He’s got Steve and we have to go get him back.”

“So, he’s holding Commander McGarrett for ransom?”

“No. I don’t know what he wants. I assume he thinks Steve has information he wants, or he’d probably just kill him.”

“Are you sure he’s even alive?”

There’s a dark little part of him that isn’t sure. Jenna had said he was, but then Jenna said a lot of things that turned out not to be true. It’s already been a few hours since her call, a lot could have changed since then. But no, he won’t give up on Steve. Steve would never give up on him. He owes him at least that much.

“Nothing’s certain,” he says. “But I can’t just give up on him. I have to try.”

“You’re really doing this? You’re really sneaking into one of the most hostile countries in the world and storming the lair of some master criminal on the chance that Commander McGarrett might be alive?”

“I know it sounds crazy.”

“Crazy? It’s absolutely bloody mad! You realize you’ll actually be invading a foreign country? That the worst case scenario isn’t finding Commander McGarrett dead, but that you could actually start a war with North Korea?’

“I have to do this, Rachel. I know it’s insane. I know how dangerous it is, I just,” Danny lets out a shuddering sigh. “I can’t leave him there.”

“Is he worth it?”

“What?”

“You’ve already put your career and your freedom on the line for this man once already. Now you’re going on what I assume is tantamount to a suicide mission on the off chance you can save him. Is he really worth it? Is he worth your life? Is he worth Grace losing her father?”

“He’d do it for me,” Danny says. “That’s all I’ve got. If that doesn’t make you understand, then I’ve got nothing else.”

Rachel looks at him for a moment, then sighs. “I assume you’ve come to talk to Grace. How much are you going to tell her?”

“She has to know there’s a chance I might not come back. I can’t just walk out that door for what might be the last time and not have her know that. I want to say goodbye.”

Rachel’s voice is tremulous, her eyes wet with unshed tears as she says “I’ll go get her.”

Danny’s sitting on a couch in a room off the foyer when Grace enters.

“Danno?” she says cautiously. “Mommy said you had something important to tell me.”

“I do, baby. Come sit next to me.” Once Grace is settled next to him he starts. “You remember I told you about that bad man who made it look like Uncle Steve killed the governor?” she nods. “Well, he’s very tricky and we still haven’t found him and now he’s managed to trick Uncle Steve into going to a very dangerous place and well, he’s caught him.”

She jumps up, frantic. “Danno, you have to save him!”

Danny’s heart fills with pride that she at least on some level understands that he needs to do this. He’s also a little happy that she’s still young enough to believe that he might be able to pull this off just because he’s her father.

“I will, Grace. At least I’ll try my best.”

Grace gets quiet and sits back down, snuggling up next to him. “It’s a really dangerous place, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it is.”

“Are you going by yourself?”

“No. Uncle Chin and Auntie Kono are coming. And the new lady at work, Lori. And Uncle Steve’s old SEAL teacher, Commander White.”

“That’s good. I’m glad you’re not going alone.”

“Me too, baby, but you need to know, it’s still going to be pretty dangerous. Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”

“I think so,” Grace says looking up at him. She’s got tears streaming down her face and Danny hates himself a little for making his little girl cry. “You might not come back,” she says almost in a whisper.

“Yeah,” Danny says. “You know I’d never leave you on purpose, right? You know I’ll fight with everything I’ve got to get back to you?”

“I know, Danno,” and she’s only a few breaths away from sobbing. “I know if the bad man had you, Uncle Steve would do anything to find you. You have to try. It's what you do for the people you love.”

“We will, Grace. I promise,” he takes her into his arms and hugs her tight. “Danno loves you. So so much.”

“I love you too,” she sobs. “I’ll pray to Saint Michael for you. For all of you.”

Danny thinks she’d probably be better off praying to Saint Jude given their odds of success, but he’s scared his baby enough already. “Thank you, baby,” he says as he sets her down. “I guess this is goodbye.”

“No!” she shouts. “Don’t say goodbye! Goodbye means you’re not coming back!”

Danny has a sudden realization that he really is going into this without hope and that’s the best way to get himself killed. He decides that if his little girl can believe in him, than the least he can do is believe in himself and his team. Yes, the odds are against them, but that’s never stopped them before. They can do this.

“Then how about this?” Danny says. “Since we’re in Hawaii, we’ll say aloha. That can mean hello and goodbye. So it’s like saying goodbye until we can say hello again.”

Grace nods. “And it means love.”

“And it means love,” Danny echoes. He hugs her again. “How did I get lucky enough to have such a brave little girl?”

“Runs in the family, I guess.”

Danny smiles. He lets her go and stands. “Aloha, baby.”

“Aloha, Danno.”

He turns to go. Rachel is standing in the doorway. He hugs her, their position a bit awkward around her pregnant belly. “Good luck,” she whispers to him. “Be safe.”

“I’ll call as soon as I can,” he says.

Joe hasn’t called yet, so he heads home. Home for the last three weeks being Steve’s house. He walks around, not knowing what do with himself. He wasn’t lying before when he’d told Steve he didn’t believe in spirits. Hell, he doesn’t even really believe in god and angels or saints for that matter, though he tends to keep his silence on that lest he break his ma’s heart. But he still can’t help but think this place is full of something indefinably Steve. He heads out to the garage and sees Jack McGarrett’s old Mercury Marquis there. That piece of crap car that Steve poured his heart and soul into. He remembers that time they took it out and it broke down, how he’d chided Steve for being so stupidly sentimental. He thinks now there isn’t much he wouldn’t give to be pushing this monstrosity of a car up that hill again with Steve right now, and it’s comforting to think that maybe Steve has left a piece of himself here, that he can feel all the love Steve poured into fixing his dad’s old car.

The phone rings, startling him out of his reverie. It’s Joe who tells him to gather the team and meet at Hickham in half an hour. Danny turns to go, but then stops himself. He goes back to the car and puts his hand on the hood.

“Aloha, Steve.” He says to the empty air. “Danno’s coming. Just hold on, babe. Just hold on.”

**Author's Note:**

> I couldn't believe for a second that Danny would leave on mission he knew could end in his death without seeing Grace one more time. I thought about maybe having her fight him a little more on it, but in the end I think she's still at that age where she believes her daddy can do anything. And even if she's growing out of that she still knows how special Danny and Steve's friendship is. I have some other ideas for stories related to this episode which if written will be tied into this and will almost certainly be slash. But for now, it is what it is.


End file.
